We tried these five wines over the weekend at table:
1. Failla Chard EstateVnyd/FtRoss-Seaview (13.8%) 2013: Med.gold color; quite stony/mineral quite lemony/Chard/citric/spicy very light pencilly/oak rather elegant/restrained nose; rather tart/tangy quite lemony/Chard/spicy/juicy racey/structured/steely/flinty flavor; very long/lingeringsteely/flinty very lemony/citric/Chard light pencilly/oak finish; some like a StonyHill w/o the oak; beautiful Chard whose best is yet to come; very reasonably priced at $44.00
______________
2. Ridge Primitivo LyttonEstate/DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (12% PS; 14.7%; 40 brls; Bttld: 2/14; Drk: 1/14-1/18-1/19: JO) 2012: Med.dark color; strong Am.oak/vanilla/Ridge oak/bit smokey strong licorice/blackberry/Zin/quite spicy/raspberry slight earthy nose; rather tart/lean strong blackberry/Zin/spicy/licorice some vanilla/Am.oak/smokey flavor w/ some hard/firm tannins; very long blackberry/Zin/licorice rather tart bit hard/lean strong vanilla/Am.oak light earthy finish w/ some hard tannins; much like a LS Zin but not the bright raspberry character or dusty/OV/spicy character; can't tell that it's any different from any other Ridge Zin; fairly priced at $28.80 (ATP)
______________
3. Nervi Bianca DOCG: Erbaluce di Caluso (12%; www.NerviCantine.It; www.Massanois.com) Gattinara 2013: Light yellow color; slight SO2/reduced/cabbagey/outhouse very stony/earthy slight herbal/woodsy rather neutral nose; quite tart/lean/austere/metallic/teeth-chattering/very tangy strong earthy/stoney/slight cabbegey flavor almost devoid of fruit; med.short very tart/grapefruity/stony/metallic/tangy finish w/ no fruit evident; hard to tell if this will go anywhere but pretty unpleasant to drink now. $20.00 (AV)
______________
4. WindGap Syrah NellessenVnyd/SonomaCoast (11.9%; 10 brls/231 cs; www.WindGapWines.com) Sebastapol 2013: Dark color; very strong peppery/cold-climate quite Rhonish/whole-cluster/smokey strong spicy/blackberry/Syrah/graphite/smoked meats quite complex/Rhonish nose; very tart/acidic/austere/lean strong Rhonish/w-c/smoked meats/smokey some herbal/weedy/earthy/loamy some blackberry/Syrah flavor w/ ample hard/rough/bitey tannins; long hard/austere/lean/tangy strong Rhonish/w-c/graphite/pungent/smoked meats light blackberry/Syrah/peppery/c-c/licorice finish w/ ample hard tannins; a very exotic very Rhonish Syrah noose but rather painful on the palate; needs at least 5 yrs to try again; a takes a huge leap of faith in Pax to buy this wine. $40.00
______________
5. Combe Trousseau StolpmanVnyds/BallardCanyon (13%; 280 cs; 75% whole-cluster; Frmtd/aged in concrete; no added SO2) StolpmanVnyds/Lompoc 2014[/b]: Very light near rose color; some earthy/dusty rather cranberry/cherry/raspberry quite bright/fragrant very pretty Trousseau nose; quite tart strong cranberry/raspberry/cherry/Trousseau/bright quite dusty some earthy/rustic flavor w/ light/bitey tannins; very long bright/cranberry/cherry/raspberry/Trousseau somewhat dusty/earthy finish w/ light/bitey tannins; much like a Jura Trousseau but not as rustic nor as earthy; quite a pretty and good-drinking Trousseau. $28.00 (AV)
______________________________
A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Failla: This Chard is truly a Calif Chablis but w/o the strong stony/chalky/lean character of a real Chablis; This Chard badly needs age and should easily go 10-15 yrs. Even though a high acidity and little oak, it has a power & structure you don't often find in Chablis. I would rank this right up there w/ any young StonyHill or Hanzell I've had. Because of its power & acidity, I would not call this a balanced Chard other than its modest alcohol level, but it is supposedly an IPOB Chard.
______________
2. Combe: This is a special label for StolpmanVnyds. The one acre of Trousseau was planted at Stolpman at the behest and urging of RajPaar. Additional details at:
CombeTrousseau
Tom